


Keep Swimming

by fanfoolishness (LoonyLupin), LoonyLupin



Series: Chapter and Verse (Varric Tethras x Min Hawke) [24]
Category: Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Kirkwall (Dragon Age), The Wounded Coast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 13:52:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14833484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoonyLupin/pseuds/fanfoolishness, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoonyLupin/pseuds/LoonyLupin
Summary: Kirkwall's changed in many ways.  Varric finds that he and Hawke have too.





	Keep Swimming

Varric never believed in swimming.

Well, all right, he knew it was a thing certain animals were very good at.  Fish, he’d heard fish had the swimming thing down pat.  Isabela had stories of some damn big fish indeed, and they didn’t sink to the bottom of the sea.  So he knew, theoretically, it was possible.

Some humans also seemed to enjoy swimming.  On trips to the Wounded Coast, Isabela and Anders both often swam in the summertime, kicking and splashing in one of the rare sandy coves on the western side.  Most of the Coast was bordered by stark and looming cliffs, but Isabela, of course, had known a place where the sea was gentler.  Hawke had been delighted when Isabela led them to it.

“I’ve never swum in the ocean before,” she’d said eagerly, her smile a bright gleam.  “Just the little pond out back of our farm, and the Drakon river.”

“It’s a bit different than those little things, lovey,” said Isabela.  “Never turn your back to the sea, for one; it can kill you in an instant.”

Hawke just kept grinning.  “I’d like to see it try.  Varric, you in?”

Varric let out a booming guffaw.  “You’d have to drag me into that death trap in chains, Hawke.  Nah.  You crazy humans go and have your fun.  I’ll keep watch.”

“Suit yourself, dwarf,” said Anders, and the three of them rushed gleefully into the waves.

***

“Kirkwall’s not like you remember,” said Varric cautiously.

Hawke huffed, setting down her pack in the sand.  “I was there, you recall, when it all went pear-shaped.  And you’ve been away for the past year.  It’s got to be different for you, too.”

“Maybe,” he said.  A sudden fear gnawed at him.  He thought he’d always have Kirkwall to go back to, after this Inquisition business was said and done.  But she was right.  He had no reason to expect it was the Kirkwall he remembered, any more than she had.

Hawke cocked her head to one side, listening to the waves as they fell upon the sandy shore, studying the patterns of the breaking surf.  “Do you remember how we used to make camp here every summer?”

“Of course,” Varric said.  “I remember nearly seeing you and Blondie and Rivaini drowning more than once while I kept my ass safe on dry land.”

Her nose crinkled in a smirk.  It was utterly, painfully adorable.

“I love you, you know,” said Varric.

“I’ve noticed,” she said softly.  She leaned down, giving him a gentle kiss.  “What do you say?  Shall we have a swim?”

Varric waved his hands at her.  “Now you’re talking crazy.  I’m a dwarf, remember?  I’m about as likely to float as I am to fly.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Hawke.  “If the Fade has taught me anything, it’s that crazy shit can, and does, happen all the time.”  She started undoing the laces on her tunic, and Varric watched her, swallowing.  She noticed his expression.  “What?  We’re alone, aren’t we?  And I didn’t pack extra clothes for swimming.”

She stripped off her tunic, letting it flutter to the ground.  She kicked off her boots, then pulled off her trousers and her stockings, dropping them on the fallen tunic.  “You could join me.  I’ll teach you how to swim.”

“I don’t know about that,” said Varric.  But she stood there, her dark hair whipping in the sea breeze, brown skin lit warmly by the sun above, and he thought,  _ahhh, fuck it._

He set Bianca down first, then his pack.  His coat followed.  “It’s hot,” he said defensively.  “That’s all.”

“Right.”  Her smallclothes joined her other garments on the ground, and she stood naked, beautiful, glorious.  “You were saying?”

He realized he was staring.  He sat down in the sand, pulling off his boots and socks, belt and trousers.  He got back to his feet and the smallclothes came off with a flourish.  He curled his toes, savoring the sand beneath them.  It was a weird, new sensation.

Her smile was worth every bit of weirdness.  “My dear dwarf,” said Hawke.  “Come on then.  The water’s lovely, this time of year.”

He took her hand, and together they crossed the sand until the water lapped at their feet, until she led him deeper, up to his knees, his waist.  She was right.  The waves were warm and gentle here in the cove.

Slowly, slowly she convinced him to lift up one foot, then the other.  Hand under his back, she raised him up from the sandy floor until he floated.  Her hand was sure and solid beneath him.

“You’re floating, Varric,” Hawke said brightly.

“Only because you’re with me,” he pointed out.  And with her hand at his back, her mouth on his, the waves against his skin, he thought a different Kirkwall might be all right.


End file.
